The happenings of teenage Parker
by reidnparker
Summary: In which Parker's teenage years are looked over in detail. All works are fiction, made up by me and based on mentionings from the television show 'Leverage.' (I do not own their characters, I simply own my characters that I have made up.)
1. Chapter 1

**_I've decided to start a teenage Parker fic. So, enjoy reading! :)_**

She draws a star with her finger, against the frosty window. Staring out at the streets below. A seventeen year old with no real home – at least she's out of care now. _'Care' they call it._

Jumping down from the window pane, she sits on the creaky bed. "C'mon, Archie." She's expecting a new job today – it's been three solid days without one, and Parker is going bored out of her mind. The snow outside is falling thicker and faster, but watching it just makes her want to fall asleep.

A knock at the door echoes throughout the empty rooms around her. This place she stays in is one of his many abandoned buildings he owns, and he fixed this one up just for her. It's a small, disused factory. Very cold in winter, but Archie managed to find some heaters. 'Find' being the key word.

"Come in!" Her voice chirps, as she stays lying on her bed. Her leather jacket is pulled tightly around her body, and a fortress of blankets lay scattered around her.

"This job isn't too urgent, so –" Archie is drawn to a halt, as an eager trainee practically bounces from her bed in anticipation. He continues, " – so, you should at least wait until the flurries stop. I'd like you to go and retrieve this... I'd like to sell it to an eager client of mine uptown." He hands her a folded piece of paper.

"Awesome, thanks!" Parker is already pulling her boots on, poking her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.

"You'll freeze!" Archie counteracts, stopping in front of the doorway before she can bound down the rickety stairs behind him. She glances at the address on the back of the worn out paper. It's only two streets away.

"I'll buy coffee," she ducks under his arm, and proceeds to run down the staircase taking two steps at a time. Running outside into the fresh air, the snow hits her face like a sheet of cold ice.

"Hmm, maybe I will freeze." Parker mumbles, folding her arms over her chest as if it'll somehow help to warm her. It isn't long before she's outside the building that holds this precious bracelet – kept in a safe, two floors up. Should be totally easy.

"Shit," with shaking hands, the lock pick is proving hard to handle. Finally the wooden door gives a comforting click, and it swings open. She heads inside, coughing from the dust. _Rich people, huh? All these disused buildings where they keep their overflowing supply of precious, expensive stuff._

Reaching inside her bag, her hand grips a flashlight. The beams of dim yellow light dance across the old fashioned walls, and the creak of her footsteps were the only sound to be heard. Surprisingly, the door at the top of the stairs wasn't even locked. "This is like something from a horror movie... If I die here, I'm suing you, Archie." She whispers, placing her hand on the cold, metal handle of the door ahead of her.

The room she enters resembles an old, attic. It's full of vintage furniture, just sitting there.. Collecting dust. There's a rustic looking wall safe at the far end of the room, and a trek of old looking obstacles in her way. "Who even keeps creepy looking dolls like that?!" Parker edges further to the left, wanting to avoid anything that resembles _Chucky_ in any way shape, or form.

Once she's reached the same proximity as her target, the flashlight takes place in-between her teeth as she retrieves what she needs to crack the safe in front of her. That same, satisfying click sounds within five minutes, and a grin plays upon Parker's face. Inside the safe is exactly what Archie said – how did he even know this stuff? She places a hand inside, and reaches for the emerald bracelet. It sparkles from the little light that's inside the room, coming from her flashlight.

Another easy job done. Being only nineteen years old, and having been trained by Archie Leach since she was nine, Parker felt like soon enough she'd be able to steal anything in the world. She'd always dreamed of it being just her, going where she wanted... No therapists in the way, or social workers. She was now closer to that goal than ever before, thanks to her trainer.

Sliding back along the icy streets, she suddenly feels an impact with someone ahead of her. Oops. "Sorry, uh - my bad." Parker picks herself up from the floor, only to see someone holding something that belonged to her... _Well, kind of._

"Hey, that's mine!" She tries to grab it, but the girl simply holds it higher. "Doesn't look like it's in your price range, honey." She flicks a strand of brown hair over her shoulder, and Parker's eyes narrow.

"I'm taking it back to a friend." Her teeth clench, as the girl laughs. She seems to be around the same age as Parker, but she's a lot taller.

"Weird, because I'm pretty sure it belongs to _my_ friend too." This is the last thing the mystery girl utters, before taking off into a run. Parker soon follows suit – what's she going to tell Archie about why she lost his merchandise? That she dropped it after bumping into someone, and they stole it off her? He wouldn't give her another serious job for months!

The girl turns another corner, and it leads into an alleyway. Ha! Surely she's cornered now... But, as Parker's feet carry her around the bend, she slides her way straight into another door.

 _beep. beep. beep._

The incessant, shrill noise of an unidentified beep begins to fill Parker's ears. Her eyes are closed, and as soon as they begin to open a burning, whiteness temporarily blinds her vision.

"What the...?" She rubs her eyes, and as everything slowly blends back into one image, she now knows where she is.

"It's alright, honey. You're in hospital," someone whom Parker presumes to be a nurse begins to reassure her, and starts bustling around her bed. Oh no. This was even more embarrassing than just having to explain to Archie how she lost the bracelet.

"Can I get out of here?" Parker groans, trying to sit up. The nurse stops her, and laughs.

"No, no! You were brought in with a concussion and almost broken nose... The cop who took you here seemed pretty confused as to why you were out all on your own, and we couldn't find any contact details in your wallet." Parker's eyes widen.

"The _cop?!_ " She yelps, immediately sitting up. Bad idea – overwhelmed by dizziness she collapses back down again.

"It's alright, I suggested waiting until you wake up to hear your explanation. He got called off half an hour ago anyway... So, who can we contact to come get you?" Thankfully the nurse didn't seem to phased about her reaction. Must've assumed it was confusion from the concussion.

"Oh, uh... My uncle, I know his number." Parker quickly tells the nurse. As much as she didn't want to call Archie, she'd rather get out of here and then deal with the shame afterwards.

It wasn't long before Archie turned up. He had to answer a lot of questions, and fill in a fair amount of forms for the hospital. He's a great liar, and a good job too – or getting Parker out of the ER would've proved rather difficult with social services getting involved.

"Come on, dear. Let's get you home." Archie speaks loud enough for the nurse to hear, as he gestures to the wheelchair beside Parker's bed.

"I don't need a wheelchair," she scoffs, chewing on the candy bar the nurse gave her to bring up her blood sugars.

"I'm playing the caring uncle, for the love of Christ get in the chair." Archie sounds stern, and Parker almost chokes on the piece of candy bar she just swallowed. Obeying her mentor, she gets into the wheelchair and ignores the heat in her cheeks. This is the most embarrassing day of her life, by far.

Once they're both out of the hospital, Parker let's out a breath of relief she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. "Tell me what happened, from the start." Archie demands, holding his car door open for her to climb in. Parker takes a deep breath, and then begins to go into detail about how she certainly made an arch enemy today.

Thankfully, Archie doesn't seem too mad. He's more mad about the fact Parker chased this mystery thief through snow filled streets, and then managed to wind herself up in the ER. The _'I told you so'_ speech probably wouldn't mean she'd avoid doing this again, and Archie knew this. He dropped her off at the factory, reassuring her that his client wouldn't mind too much. Besides, Archie would probably get the bracelet back himself. _He didn't really need Parker anyway... Did he?_


	2. Chapter 2

**_3 weeks since the incident at the hospital._**

After receiving an unfortunate concussion, Archie paid extra visits to Parker at the factory for the next two weeks, to make sure she was alright. He even stayed the first few nights... Plus, he made sure she contacted him every morning to say she was fine.

She made a big fuss about it, but really it was all just a little too weird for her – having some who actually cared.

Parker's current position is wrapped up in her duvet – Mr. Bunny by her side. She has this book, (no, it's not a diary, nor a journal. So don't call it that.) it's a book. A book full of envelopes and notes from Archie about her training, lists of things to do and things that have already been done. Scribbles and doodles of anger or sudden happiness. This book lives under Parker's pillow, and Archie has no idea that it exits.

The idea to keep a book like this somewhat stems from childhood therapy sessions – like when Parker was eight, and told to keep a diary on her emotions. She stole a lighter and burnt it. But, then she stole a new journal and drew a rather detailed drawing of what exactly she thought of her therapist... She went through a lot of them throughout her time in care.

Archie hasn't been by for two days, and he won't give Parker any more jobs for now. She would go outside if it hadn't snowed overnight. Besides, it's much more fun watching other people slip and slide across the icy streets of New York, anyway.

Well, well Archie comes by later Parker is hanging upside down from her bed. With colourful drawings all over her arms from where she got bored earlier. Oh, and she's asleep.

"Parker?" A small yelp like sound escapes her mouth, and she descends to the floor with a crash. _"Seriously?!"_ Archie wonders about her sometimes. I mean – she trying to retain another head injury, or something?!

"I'm good," she finally confirms, before jumping back onto her bed again. A few moments pass, and then Archie spots something. He raises his eyebrows at Parker, who looks seemingly guilty.

"Have you been out pickpocketing?" _What else was there to do for the past five days Archie hadn't showed up? Sit there and read a book? Write a novel?_

 _"No..."_ Parker uses her hand to 'casually' place her pillow over the pile of wallets beside her bed. "There's a lot of gym memberships around these days," when Archie starts sifting through them, she announces this fact.

Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she studies his face. He seems like he already predicted her actions, as he throws the wallets carelessly back down again. "I'll be out of town for a few days, and then we'll be back to training and jobs, alright?" Parker knows this has something to do with his family, so she simply nods.

It isn't long before she's alone again, pondering what the hell to do now – whilst Archie was off doing normal family stuff with his super normal family.

"We don't need _anyone_ ," Parker brings her bunny close to her face, and then hugs him tight to her chest.

Soon it's back to painting shapes on the steamed up window, staring down at the whitened city below.


	3. Chapter 3

**_one summer later._**

Archie is away with his wife for a few weeks – he does this more and more now. Parker has done a lot of training in the past year. Her favourite so far has been the jobs where she's had to descend from a building. Yes, this does worry Archie just ever so slightly.

Eyeing up her line of Doc Martens – Archie bought her first pair for her two years ago, when she said something about them looking nice and then a few days later a pair turned up in her room, with a birthday note attached. She wouldn't tell him when her birthday was, so he had got into the habit of dropping off a present or two each year in hope of maybe one day delivering one on her real day of birth.

There's a white pair, a burgundy pair, turquoise and black. Well, the white pair aren't exactly white anymore. She chooses the white ones to wear right now, pulling them on. It's sunny outside, and there's no need for a jacket at this temperature.

Pushing her hair up into an bun – it's just about long enough now – she heads out of the door. There must be something to do out there, something to steal... I mean, her candy supply was definitely running low.

She heads down the street, weaving through the tourists and locals. Plugging in a pair of headphones, the noise of the crowd is blocked out. She glances across the street at the nearby bank, it's just habit. But, she sees someone standing outside. Someone who's staring right at her... She has brown hair, and is around the same age as Parker. As she tries to look closer, a group of bustling tourists hide her away, and when they've moved... She's gone.

Parker simply brushes this weird account off, and turns her music higher. Soon she's walking so fast she's unaware of how far she's gone. Leaving the factory behind, the slight breeze on her face follows her as she twists and turns around different streets. Until... A bump causes her to abruptly stop in her tracks. "Hey, look where you're go– _ing..."_ Parker trails off, as she looks up at the uniformed man who had caused this sudden impact.

"M'am, please step to the side." He takes her shoulder, leading her to the side of the street. Parker stuffs her headphones in her pocket, taken aback by confusion. What had she done this time?

"What're you doing?!" Parker jumps back into the second cop behind her, as the man reaches for her pocket.

"We've had a report of a female matching your description carrying a weapon. Keep your hands by your side, and stay calm." The cop is forced to explain to her, as Parker begins to writhe in the grip of the second man.

"I don't have any weapons!" Parker is thankful she wasn't currently carrying her lock pick, or she'd have a lot of explaining (running) to do.

She finally gives in, deciding it's better to be frisked and let go, rather than sit in a cell for the day if she assaulted a cop. Finally, the cops are done. "Sorry, M'am... The anonymous tip said someone fitting your description had a knife on their person. You can understand why we have to che –" Parker is already walking away, ignoring the voices coming from behind her.

Trying to steady her breathing, Parker accidentally crashes into someone's side. She keeps on walking, not wanting anymore confrontations today. "Hey, Parker!" A recognisable, male voice calls after her.

 _"What?!"_ She spins on her heels, folding her arms as she stares at the guy behind her. Yes – another cop. But, a much less threatening one.

"Well, you're a little more rude than usual." He straightens his belt, and her eyes roll. Although his brown eyes usually carry a warmth to them, today it's just too hot.

"Some of your so-called colleagues just frisked me because apparently an anonymous tip told them I was carrying a knife." She practically spits at him, not even realising how uptight she felt. "Hey, also I saw a suspicious looking girl around my age, with brunette hair.. Going into the bank on fourth street!" She blurts out all at once, and one of his eyebrows raise.

"Around _your_ age?" He bites down on his bottom lip to hold back a laugh. He sure underestimated her – maybe that's why he always let her get away on a warning. They had met last year, actually... In the winter. Parker was out and about whilst Archie was away, and had gotten caught pickpocketing. It was a pure coincidence, but she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She just needed to get to the pharmacy, and didn't have any cash... When, a certain rookie cop was off duty and saw her do the lift.

He couldn't really do much, since he was off duty. But, he chased her three streets until she ran out of breath and almost fell over – there was a lot of embarrassment from being caught, yet alone being _physically caught_ before she fell over. He threatened to arrest her as a civilian, but after he wouldn't let her get away and she quickly tried to make up a lie but was failing due to lack of oxygen and constant sneezing, he decided to let her off and give her a five dollar bill to go and by some medicine with.

Then, just a few weeks later he had seen her again – on duty this time – and had to stop her for jaywalking, well, 'jayrunning.' She was in fact running away from Archie, and he had shouted her name out of her bedroom window... Which was how rookie cop O'Riley learnt her real name, and she told him never to tell another living soul or she'd set a pack of rabid dogs on him. (Due to her tone, he didn't really doubt her threat, so he decided not to tell anyone else her name, if the occasion to ever arose.)

So, after he doesn't believe her about the maybe not so mystery girl, Parker doesn't want to stick around any longer. "Whatever, don't go check it out. Or do. I don't care," she mumbles. About to cross the street, she hears him shout to her again. "Use the freakin' crossing!"

Mimicking his words – sarcastically, of course – she stops herself from crossing the road, and then walks back up the street and crosses at the correct place. _Damn O'Riley._

Parker ends up buying her favourite flavour bubblegum, as planned – sour raspberry flavour, mainly just because it makes her tongue go blue. And, a cherry popsicle. "Well, now I have brain freeze." She states, throwing the popsicle stick into the bin. It lands inside on the first try, and she silently cheers herself, throwing her arms up into the air.

Mini victory aside, Parker just can't get that girl off her mind. She still hasn't forgotten about the time she humiliated her, and endangered her getting arrested. I mean, she even could've died from a head injury – okay, slightly drastic. Archie still doesn't know the full details of what had happened, because Parker had planned on finding the girl and confronting her... But, no matter how hard she looked, it was like she had dropped off of the face of the earth (or New York, at least). _That is, until today..._


	4. Chapter 4

"This town isn't big enough for the two of us," Parker mumbles. Pacing up and down her room, she's trying to think of a plan.

This plan ends up taking two weeks... It started off as kidnapping, but that's slightly more illegal than stealing. After Parker kept on searching the area, low and behold the mystery girl never turned up. There was a robbery at the bank though, and when Parker confronted O'Riley about it, he explained that his fellow cops laughed in his face about his suspect idea. Nice.

"Yeah, I got it. In through the roof, air vents and then out the same way. Yes, I've got everything." Parker leans against her doorframe impatiently, dressed in all black. Archie is sending her on a job to a onetime, small charity auction at the local city hall... To steal as much merchandise as she can. It's a job unlike any other – one where she's in control of what to steal.

Air vent training started when she was about thirteen. and it seemed she was no stranger to tight spaces. So, Archie didn't hesitate to let her 'roam free' – so to speak – for this mission.

He finally moves out of the way of the door, and she goes bounding down the stairs. "See you later!" She calls, before the sound of the door crashing open and shut again echoed throughout the building.

The night is warm, whilst being accompanied by a cool breeze. Parker's hair is braided into two separate braids. She pops a bubblegum into her mouth, and begins to near the hall. Archie has already lectured her about not getting too far ahead of herself... _"Think ahead, Parker. Plan and be careful, do not just rush in there like a kid in a candy shop, okay!"_ At the time she was temporarily distracted though, because her icecream was melting and she had to save it before it would tragically fall to the ground.

The city hall was in sight, and she can see the bright lights illuminate the pathway ahead. Making a turn for the darker alleyway that leads for the roof, she took this chance to double check her bag. Everything was ready. She was ready.

The climb to the roof was fine, and she lands on both feet at the top. There's a main air vent to climb inside next... Using her lock pick to – wait a minute, it's already unlocked. She frowns, but climbs in anyway. With her flashlight armed inbetween her teeth, Parker begins to climb down and inside the larger map of vents. She knows the way to the main holding room, and knows how to stop the security system. It's not a major event, quite secret in fact... Not too much security because of the charity who are holding the event.

She's almost there, when... "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me." A sarcastic voice whispers.

 _"You!"_ Parker hisses, as the pair become face to face just a few metres away from each other.

Parker cannot let her mess up yet another mission, how on earth would she ever convince Archie she was good enough to go it alone? So, beginning to crawl after her, Parker must get the merchandise from this girl. "Oh, no you don't!" A sharp kick to the knuckles stuns Parker for a mere few seconds, and she grabs the leg that kicked.

"That's _my_ stuff!" Parker fails to keep her grip any longer, and the leg, followed by the ankle slips out from between her fingers. Continuing the chase through the vents, soon both thieves have lost their sense of direction. Loud, jazz music can be heard from beneath them.

They've both stopped. Parker knows that going away from the loud sounds of the party bustle below is the safest option, but that means either turning back around and being the chasee, not the chaser. Or, go to the left... And, possibly leave with nothing. Before she can decide which fate to choose, or even consider, the clanging noises in front of her show that her opponent has chosen to go to the left. Following in pursuit, they begin to head forwards... Further, and further. Until – _"shit!"_ Parker takes this as her cue to stop dead in her tracks, and her quick reflexes mean that she manages to grab the rucksack handle on the other girl's back, as she falls down a sudden drop in the air vent.

Having managed to balance her feet just barely along the edge, Parker is now fighting to snatch it away. "You can't take that!" "So, it's not yours." "It's not yours either!" "Well, finders keepers, losers –"

"NYPD, stop right there!"

"No, that's not how it go –" the feeling of her leg being grabbed means one thing and thing only. The phrase 'you're going down with me' has truly come to life, and Parker's enemy is _literally_ about to drag her down with her.


	5. Chapter 5

_**"NYPD, stop right there!"**_

As the two thieves come tumbling down the air vent due to the the first in line losing her footing, she manages to grab Parker's ankle at the last minute. There's no way she's letter her escape now.

When they both land, the cop is momentarily distracted from having to jump out of the way. Just enough time for Parker to do something she really has to do. Punch the other girl straight in the nose, and call her a thieving bitch.

"You're under arrest, for theft – and you, premeditated theft _and_ assault." The cop points to the girl who's holding her nose in disbelief, and then to Parker who's smiling with satisfaction.

Her facial expression changes when the man snaps a pair of handcuffs shut around her wrist, and she finds it unfair when her non-partner in crime is allowed to carry on without any. "Hey, O'Riley, come in here would ya. Got a pair of hooligans come to steal some loot, get them down to the station for me." Parker's eyes widen, and she sees something she's seen many times before, in his eyes – _disappointment._

The ride to the station is, well, dreadful. _She_ got to ride upfront, and Parker had to sit in the back like some criminal. She deserved that punch. As the adrenaline begins to drain from Parker's system, she notices a pain in her right hand. Looking down at it, her knuckles are bloody and bruised. Oh yeah, she had used the same hand that got kicked in the air vents, to punch said person who kicked her. Like she said – _'bitch.'_

As soon as they arrive the first thing O'Riley does is hand the other girl over to another cop for fingerprinting (and first aid treatment), before leading Parker into a side room. She sits there in silence as he then proceeds to uncuff her. "That looks painful," he gestures to her right hand, but she flinches away before he can touch it.

Parker shrugs at him in response, purposefully avoiding eye contact. "So, I guess now I finally get to find out all about you." His tone seems jokey... But, she doesn't understand. "You don't have to fingerprint me. I've done nothing wrong!" She seems defensive, not wanting to be manhandled by cops is a good enough reason for her tone.

"You were found in the air vents of a charity auction, with plans and professional looting equipment in your backpack, and then you punched someone in the face!" He counteracts, hitting the table out of habit. An apologetic look streams over his face, as Parker jumps backwards – a tiny flash of fear disappearing from her eyes almost as quick as it came.

"She deserved the punch." Parker blows a blue bubble of gum from her mouth, and leans back in the chair, regaining her calm demeanour in seconds. "Don't play cocky with me," O'Riley's eyes roll, as Parker sends him a stare.

The next thing she knows, the handcuffs are back on, and he's off to get a fingerprinting kit. That went well... Not. When O'Riley reenters the room, he's carrying a bandage, a water bottle, and the correct equipment to officially ID Parker. She snatches the bandage from his hand, not wanting any sympathy for her injury, so she simply wraps it around her hand on her own. A slight feeling of regret twinges inside of her, as her 'carefree' attitude approach causes even more pain to the wound.

"Stop," he murmurs, trying to place Parker's left hand near the ink. She squirms a little more, elbowing him a few times before he finally retrieves the prints he needs. "I'll be back, drink the water." O'Riley's eyes travel to the bottle he placed on the table a few moments ago, but she ignores him.

A whole hour later, and O'Riley doesn't get much out of Parker about the whole air vent incident. The fact that this was where she tumbled from made her look guilty of something, or just plain weird. So, she decides to tell him one thing, and one thing only. "I just went to try steal something big, and we just happened to collide."

"Well, I can't officially arrest you for theft. I can put premeditated theft on your juvie record though," he ponders for a moment. He's beginning to wonder whether or not Parker has done this before. But, after reading her record he truly believes she doesn't deserve an official record just yet.

"If I told you that you should stop doing stuff like this, and that you can make something of yourself... Would you punch me too?" His eyebrow twitches in an upwards direction just slightly, and Parker slouches further down in her chair.

"I'd tell you to piss off and mind your own business. Hypothetically, of course." Her face shows little emotion as these words fall out of her mouth.

"Duly noted. Written warning, but you're officially in the system now. You're free to go," he walks around the table, retrieving the keys to the handcuffs from his belt.

"Free to go?" She repeats, perking up a little. O'Riley nods in response, taking her cuffs off and watching as Parker shakes her wrists around.

"Well, your sworn enemy in the other room isn't pressing assault charges, most likely because of what I assume she did to you." His eyes travel towards her right hand, and Parker places it further behind her back in response.

She's not quite sure what to say or do, so she simply makes her way to the door. "I'd say see you around, but –" he goes to make a joke, just as Parker opens the door.

"Well, I may see you... But, you won't be seeing me anymore. _Rookie O'Riley,_ " a smile actually appears on her face, and he finds it quite the contagious gesture. As she lets the door swing shut, a plan has already begun to form inside her head.

Most of the cops are at this charity event – even more so now that there was a robbery attempt. All of those stolen items, just sitting in the evidence lockup just awaiting to be processed... One cop at the front desk, and a couple in the break room maybe... With O'Riley switching duties with the more threatening cop who was interviewing Parker's opponent, how could she resist. This lift should be easy, being in such a small station.

"You're back late," Archie comments, glancing down at his watch. She's easily two hours later than he had anticipated her returning time to be. Parker simply smiles, place the backpack down on her bed... And, a few other things she had required earlier.

"Well done," he comments, sitting through the merchandise that lay on her bed before him. Parker places her injured hand behind her back, not wanting Archie to suspect anything if she could help it.

He leaves quickly – needing to get back to his unsuspecting family. Parker lets out a breath of relief that she hadn't even registered was being held, as she flops down onto her bed. She begins to think back to earlier, feeling proud of how she managed to get out of such a sticky situation.

 _It had all started when she had a sudden plan halfway through O'Riley's so-called 'interrogation'..._


End file.
